Turns out the winner of the Democrats' first series of debates was President Trump. According to the Washington Post/ABC News poll, after the Democrats debated, Trump's approval rating went up to 44% among all Americans. But that is not really the number to focus on.
A poll of all Americans about any politician's approval is largely irrelevant because those nonvoting Americans will not shape public policy. The more relevant number is among registered voters. According to ABC News, Trump polls at 47% with registered voters. Registered voters, however, do not all vote. The most accurate pool to survey is likely voters, but it is too far from the election to determine who they'll be.
We do know historic trends. Historically, the pool of likely voters moves a few percentage points closer to the Republicans. As 47% of registered voters approve of the President, among likely voters, it is realistically between 49% and 50%, which are very good numbers. For comparison, President Barack Obama was polling at the same numbers in July of 2011, before his reelection.
The Emerson Poll also shows Trump making gains after the Democrats' debate debacle. It does not help the Democrats that they went so far outside the mainstream. On stage, several advocated a gun confiscation program. All of them supported giving health care to illegal aliens. Many of them supported ending private insurance in favor of government insurance. Kamala Harris single-handedly took multiple positions on busing. Then they decided to champion slavery reparations.
The ABC News poll shows that the President would beat a socialist-oriented Democrat by six points. The Democrats continue to pile on Joe Biden, whom polling shows does best against Trump.
Beto O'Rourke, a man who made the fatal mistake of believing his own press, told an immigrant couple that the United States was founded on white supremacy, that white supremacy and the legacy of slavery were woven into the fabric of the United States. With multiple nonwhite candidates running for president, one must wonder if white supremacy is what keeps O'Rourke in the race. If he really believes white supremacy is woven into our democracy, should he not step aside and support one of the nonwhite candidates? O'Rourke ran against a Hispanic candidate for congress and won. He tried to beat a Hispanic candidate for the Senate in Texas. Now, he battles two nonwhite candidates for the presidency. By O'Rourke's own logic, we should expect to see him soon marching with the Proud Boys and a Tiki torch.
The Democrats seem intent on running to see which of them hates America the most. The situation is no better with the congressional Democrats. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accused Nancy Pelosi of racism, only to walk it back. Ocasio-Cortez is an increasingly prominent voice for Democrats who voice their disdain for the United States. So, too, is her freshman colleague Ilhan Omar. In a Washington Post profile of the refugee turned congresswoman, Omar largely concedes she told high school students a story that played up the cruelty of the American legal system by leaving out key facts. She is now attacking Fox News' Tucker Carlson for having the audacity to accurately call her ungrateful. But it does seem ungrateful for a refugee who started a new life in the United States and got elected to Congress to then use her bully pulpit to repeatedly bad-mouth the nation that gave her a new start.
Beyond the elected Democrats, the mob in the streets continues to get more violent. In Portland, Oregon, a progressive mob beat up a reporter, sending him to the hospital. Many of the same progressive voices in the media who openly claim Trump wants an authoritarian regime were defending the mob attacking the reporter. Other mobs chase political opponents out of restaurants and harass immigration agents. The revolutionaries among the Democrats are handing Trump reelection, but they are so in their bubble that they don't even realize it. It's good news for President Trump.
To find out more about Erick Erickson and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
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